Israeli strikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip, including two children, according to local authorities and rescue services in the Palestinian territory.
Two Palestinians were killed at dawn when a tent was bombed in a camp in Deir al-Balah, in the central part of the territory, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency in Gaza reported.
A 10-year-old girl was killed by Israeli artillery fire north of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the same source and a spokesperson for Nasser Hospital. An Israeli military (IDF) spokesperson told the French news agency AFP, which had requested comment on the report, that they had no knowledge of the incident.
A 4-year-old child died in an Israeli bombing of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, the Civil Defence agency said. It also reported that a mother and her child were pulled from the rubble at the same site.
An Israeli air strike on Khan Younis killed one person and wounded five others, rescue services in Gaza told AFP.
Desalination Plant Destroyed
Separately, Gaza security sources told AFP that Israeli fighter jets destroyed a water desalination unit with three missiles in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, in the northwestern part of Gaza City. Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson, condemned the strike, describing it as another attempt to deprive Gaza's residents of every means of survival.
Israeli Military's Response
Asked about the strike by AFP, an IDF spokesperson said the Israeli military had not targeted the desalination unit but a Hamas weapons depot in a nearby mosque. The spokesperson said the army had also struck a second weapons depot during the day, this time in Deir al-Balah.
The spokesperson said the two sites, located inside mosques in the Gaza Strip, had been used by Hamas fighters to hide and store weapons, adding that warnings had been issued before the strikes to reduce the risk to civilians.
Death Toll Since Ceasefire
According to the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, at least 1,288 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations since 10 October 2025, when a fragile ceasefire took effect in the Palestinian territory.
Gaza has been the site of a Palestinian territory under Hamas control, and the October 2025 ceasefire was intended to halt fighting between Israel and the group after nearly two years of war. Despite the truce, Israeli strikes and Palestinian casualties have continued to be reported in the enclave.
